Date:	Tuesday 19 January 1965
Time:	19:00 LT
Type:	Piper PA-24-180 Comanche
Owner/operator:	George Douglas Gilbert
Registration:	G-ARJI
MSN:	24-2666
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Fairoaks Airport, Chobham, Woking, Surrey -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Fairoaks Airport, Chobham, Woking, Surrey (EGTF)
Destination airport:	Bournemouth Airport, Hurn, Dorset (BOH/EGHH)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Piper PA-24-180 Comanche G-ARJI: Written off (destroyed) 19 January 1965, when crashed on take off from Fairoaks Airport, Chobham, Woking, Surrey (EGTF), overturned and caught fire. All three persons on board were killed.

The aircraft was taking off at night for a private flight from Fairoaks to Bournemouth (Hurn) Airport and return. Take-off direction was westerly, along a flare-path consisting of gooseneck flares and electric glim lamps. There was little or no wind. The aircraft became airborne almost at the end of the 500 yard grass strip; shortly afterwards, the port wing struck an unlighted pole situated amongst the buildings on the boundary or the aerodrome, and part of the wing broke off. The aircraft passed through a row of trees and crashed inverted in a field. Fire broke out immediately and the three occupants were killed.

Per a contemporary report in "Flight International" magazine 28 January 1965:

"Accident at Fairoaks: A Piper Comanche 180, G-ARJI, bound for Hurn crashed at about 7 p.m. on January 19, shortly after taking off from Fairoaks aerodrome, Surrey. The aircraft is reported to have become airborne and to have dived into the ground, catching fire. The owner-pilot, Mr George Gilbert, and the two other occupants, Mr Ian Trethewey and Mr John Rule, were all killed. Tiger-Club member Ian Trethewey was a well known sporting pilot, often participating in air races and flying displays."

According to an eyewitness report into the incident (see link #9):

"I was a junior instructor at the club. On the night of the crash I was positioned at the start of the take off strip. It was my duty to give take off and landing clearance to club aircraft via a green or red Aldis lamp. The CFI (Chief Flying Instructor) briefed me on my duties and made it clear that I did not need to nor must I give authorisation to take off or land to any aircraft other than club aircraft.

I remember George turning on to the strip and I turned the check the approach path and the base leg to be certain that it was safe for George to take off. Accordingly by the time I turned back to see him, he had started his take off run. This was perfectly in order. Since I could see only the tail light I turned my attention back to the club aircraft in the circuit. I heard the impact and saw the aftermath. I can't recall much after that.

I knew all three occupants well. As a budding CPL student I looked up to Ian as an already fully qualified pilot. We knew each other fairly well. Johnny Rule who was the passenger was a most delightful chap. Always ready to help and a popular member of the ground/engineering crew at Fairoaks.

It was a tragic night which went well into the next morning with the CFI, Wing Commander Cyril Arthur, fielding calls from the press, friends and club members. As the news spread of course more and more press calls came in. It was an awful loss to those of us who worked at a club. We took it very personally.

I still train pilots. I do some instructor training for airlines but most of my time is with young qualifying pilots who are finishing their course prior to joining an airline. The subject I help them to learn is CRM (Human Factors). I start all my courses with a description of this accident. A very experienced pilot making a tiny error of judgement and where so many factors conspired. Change the direction of take off, the climbing technique, the shared love of flying with one pilot helping an up and coming one and there you have it, a causal chain, and a dreadful outcome.

This story shakes the class A pilot with 1,200 hours experience hitting a pole so close to the top the tiniest adjustment and it would have been just another flight. So I say to my classes, and I show them with my hands "Eighteen inches the difference between life and death, eighteen lousy inches". I send them on a break and they return to class ready to listen. Other instructors think it's a shocking thing to tell young pilots. Ian was a young pilot, George was an experienced pilot. Johnny was a passenger. I think its right to tell youngsters about it. This was a human factors incident. Witnessing it made me a safer pilot because I grew up knowing that the best people can make the worst 'mistakes'. It's the least I can do to honour three people that I knew so well and in a funny way still miss".

Registration cancelled by UK CAA same day as aircraft "destroyed", although only formally struck off the UK civil registration when "confirmed" on 28/2/1965

1. Accidents to Aircraft - A United Kingdom Survey for the year ended 31st December 1965
2. National Archives (PRO Kew) Files AVIA 101/388 and AVIA 101/391 to AVIA 101/395 inclusive: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5070398
3. FLIGHT International, 28 January 1965: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1965/1965
4. Daily Mirror - Wednesday 20 January 1965
5. Birmingham Daily Post - Wednesday 20 January 1965
6. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ARJI.pdf
7. G-ARJI at Blackbushe 5/11/61: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1225335/
8. G-ARJI at Fairoaks November 1963: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1090060
9. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=9325.0
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairoaks_Airport#History
..

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Nov-2010 03:49	VHKDK	Added
16-Mar-2011 01:17	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative]
28-Jul-2012 20:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
20-Jan-2013 08:53	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
02-Jun-2019 06:30	harro	Updated [Source, Narrative]
22-Feb-2020 02:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
31-Mar-2020 19:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
23-Jul-2020 18:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
08-Feb-2021 20:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]